Strand feeding mechanism



Dec. 19, 1950 R. H. LAWSON 2,534,459

STRAND FEEDING MECHANISM Filed April 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 19, 1950 R. H. LAWSON STRAND FEEDING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23, 1945 Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,534,459 STRAND FEEDING'MECHANISM Robert H. Lawson, Lakeport, N. H., assignor to Scott &'Williams, I'nc., Laconia, N. H., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 23, 1945, Serial No. 589,751

14 Claims.

, This invention, relates. to furnishing or strand feeding. mechanism. for textile machines. such. as knitting and winding machines. Such machines require mechanism for supplying strands ac- 'curately, smoothly, at high speed and with uniform tension under many different exacting conditions. For example, in knitting machines, in fashioning garments, for example. stockings, the thread demand may be. interrupted or varied, while. in making panel work on. a, rib body ma chine by leaving. out needlesthe thread demand may be rapidly varied at regular. intervals. The furnishing mechanism serving such machines must therefore be capable of feeding. the strands or threads effectively at definite predetermined ratesover awide range. of speeds, of permitting 'interval'sof complete interruption when no. thread .is, being fed, and, of resuming feed smoothly and without appreciable lag after each such interruption of the feeding operation.

In: one aspect the present invention consists in an. improved furnishing device of the type employing cooperating feeding, coneswhich are. arranged to engage and advance a strand led between them at a rate which may be varied by shifting the path, of the strand along. the line of contact between the. two cones and beyond their line of contact when it-is desired to interrupt the strand feeding movement. q -I have devised. a novel. structure for furnish ing mechanisms that may be advantageously embodied. in: duplex form. This results in a com- .pact organization in which a substantial numberof strands may be taken. care: of. in a limited space. Such devices are particularly useful in connection with circular machines where it is desired to feed multiple. strands as for yarn change, plating, multi-feed, etc. The duplex furnishing device of my invention has a. capacity for handling a plurality of strands in each of its. pairs of cooperating feeding cones. Inthis connection an important feature of the inventioncomprises a single driving element: operating independent pairs of cooperating strand feeding cones and independent strand guiding elements associated with. each pair of cones.

Another feature. of the: invention consists in an improved yarn guide having, a rectilinear movement and serving to direct. the strand to theappropriate point in the line of contact in the feeding cones appropriate in. each instance] By arranging the guide for rectilinear movement.

a wide range of variation: in the rate: of strand feed, suitable. for fancy effects by welt or other stitches on; knitting" machines and for winding. is conveniently secured. and. the entering angle of the thread maintained substantially constant so that accuracy and uniformity of feed is insured. I

.. ;-'.l?he duplex feature of my novel furnishing device also contributes to an improvement in stop motion mechanism whereby a single switch is controlled by either of the two furnisher elements and yarn changing may be effected without interfering with the machines action or causing an unnecessary stop.

Another feature of the invention consists in an improved take-up construction comprising a streamline thread arm terminating in an elongated triangular loop in which a thread guiding eye is smoothly enclosed, and a wire guide bent to. provide loops which are located between, the cones and the thread guiding eye. By this construction I have decreased the distance through which the thread arm must be depressed before the strand is entered. between the conesv and. I have eliminated. the annoyance. of havingv the strand loop or catch upon the thread arm in yarn changing.

Another. feature of the invention relates particularly to. the yarn feeding. cones and their as.- sociated parts. For example, I have found that the combination of a feeding cone having ayielding. resilient-cover with a feeding cone having an unyielding metallic. face presents unexpected ad.- vantages in feedingyarn, particularly fine or elastic yarns. which have been hitherto troublesome to handle. I have also found that by providing one of the cones with slashes or notches rad-iating. from. its. apex, that the. operation of entering the yarn between the yarn feeding come after aninterval of interruption is facilitated and rendered more positive. The edges. of such notches or slashes positively engage the yarn and. whip it into feeding position without lag that might otherwise occur. I have also found it advisable to employ a yarn guide leading from the apex of one of the yarn feeding cones in such a direction as positively to prevent the yarn from reach.- ing the. outer surface of. the cone but to insure that it is always entered in the line of contact between thetwo cones.

Another feature of my invention consists in the combination. of aflat yarn feeding cone with an. acute cone or one having a sharp angle at its vertex. This combination renders the lineof contact between the cones easily accessiblefor purposes of. cleaning and ample space for presenting strands to feeding position. and withdrawing them. when: the strand feeding operationis to be interrupted. Further it is a de sirable. feature in furnishing devices of the duplex type on account-of its compactness.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated. from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected; for purposes of illustrationv and shown in the accompanying drawings. in which:

Fig. 1 is a. plan. view of furnishing device as seen from above;

with a right angle spiral gear ll.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a View in vertical section;

Fig. 4. is a detail view sh wing a portion of a thread arm and associated parts;

Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation partly in section;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing portions of three thread arms;

Fig. '7 is a detail View of the cone structure;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a strand feeding operation with a cone structur similar to that shown in Fig. '7; and

Fig. 9 is another diagrammatic view.

Without in any respect confining myself to any particular textilemachine, I will proceed to describe illustrated mechanism as organized in duplex form for feedin two strands of yard from suitable sources of supply to needles of a knitting machine. It will be understood that many features of the invention are not-limited to a furnishing device of duplex formbut may be usefully employed in furnishing devices having a single pair only of strand feeding cones.

Any desired number of the illustrated devices may be mounted as units in convenient location in Fig. 3 as overhanging the dial gear l2 of the knitting machine. In the frame of the furnishing device is mounted a vertical shaft l3 having fast to its lower end a pinion l4 meshing with the dial gear E2. The shaft I3 is provided with ball bearings at its lower end and with needle bearings I 6 near its upper end where it is provided This is arranged to mesh with a corresponding right angle spiral gear 58 fast to the middle of a horizontal shaft [9 disposed at right angles to the vertical shaftv I3 and driven through the right angle spiral gears I? and I8 at twice the speed of the "driving shaft l3. As shown in Fig. 5, the horizontal shaft is is shouldered to receive the gear 18 and is journaled in the upright portion ll of the frame by ball bearings 28 which support the reduced end of the shaft, and needle bearings 2i which support the larger end of the shaft. The

upright frame portion H is forked at its upper end to receive with clearance the gear is which is keyed on the shaft l9 between a shoulder at one side and a collar that takes up the space between it and the ball bearing 20 on the other side.

with a substantial space between them. The

cone 22 is provided with a thick resilient cover 22' of cork and rubber composition or the like, and the cone 23 is correspondingly provided with .a resilient cover 23'.

.The base portion I!) of the frame is provided with a transverse guide-way in which is adjustably retained a pair of oppositely extending carrier bars 24 and 25. Pivotally connected to the outer end of the bar 24 is an angle bracket 25 and similarly connected to the outer end of the bar 25 is a similar angle bracket 2'0. Spring pressed plungers 28 and 29 housed in vertical casings upon the base I!) engage the inner arms of the brackets 26 and 27 and tend to rock them upwardly at their outer ends and to press the cooperating strand feeding cones carried thereby yieldingly against the surfaces of the flat cones 22 and 23. An upwardly extending shaft or spindle 38 having a flat shank portion 3! is connected to the angle bracket 23, as best shown in Fig. 5. A strand feeding cone 32, of relatively sharper pitch than the cone 22, is supported upon the spindle 3f! by means of ball bearings 33 located in the base of the cone and needle bearings 34 located near the upper end of the shaft. The cone 32 is preferably of steel or other metal and presents a rigid strand driving face to the resilient strand driving cover 23 of the flat cone 23. Also cone S2 is so proportioned and so located in relation to cone 23 that at all contacting points the surface speed of one equals the surface speed of the other and this is achieved by having the extended axes of the two cone intersect at a common point. The strand fed by this pair of elements passes through the line of contact between the two cones and the rate of its linear feed depends on the position of the strand between the base and the apex of the cone 32. In entering the strand in feeding position, the strand is moved downwardly and inwardly between the two cones and this is facilitated by a wire guide 35 which is carried by the spindle extending upwardly from the upper end of the spindle and then outwardly at an inclination of about 45. The guide not only directs the strands to the line of contact between the two cones, but positively prevents the strand from accidentally passing down to that portion of the cone 32 which slopes away from cone 23. A similar cone 36 and guide 31 are carried by the angle bracket 26 in cooperation with the fiat disk 22.

With each pair of strand feeding cone there is associated one or more thread arms. These are identical in construction. For convenience, in Figs. 1 and 2 a single thread arm only is shown associated with each pair of strand feeding cones but provision is made for mounting three similar thread arm in association with each pair of strand feeding cones as shown in Fig. 6. However, since these are similar in construction and function, it will be sufficient for purposes of this disclosure to describe specifically only one thread arm. This is shown as carried by an angle bracket 38 fast to the left hand side of the upright frame portion H, and as pivotally mounted on a horizontal shaft 39 in the bracket 38. The thread arm itself comprises a flat section 40 from which projects a wire extension 4!. The outer end of this wire extension is turned downwardly and merges into an elongated triangular loop or sling 42 in which is enclosed a thread guiding eye 43 of porcelain or other wear-resisting material. The sling 42 provides a streamline enclosure for the eye 43, presenting no projection upon which this thread could catch and'no configuration ove which the thread might loop.

The rear end 44 of the flat section of the thread arm, as shown in Fig. l, is shaped to pre sent a concentric segmental cam surface which constitutes a part of the stopping mechanism to be presently described.

The arm 48 is provided with a series of holes and in one of these is hooked a downwardly extendin wire- 4a having a flattened section to in which is formed a thread guide. At its lower end the wire 45' is guided for vertical rectilinear movement in a hole formed in an arm 4-1 projecting laterally from the upright portion H of the frame. A long tension spring 48 is connected at its lower endto the arm 40 and at upper end to an upstanding vertical sup porting rod 48; The spring 48' exerts a pull on the thread" arm 40' and thus maintains tension on the thread. The demand for the thread maint'alhs the arm 40 in a normal working position. Variation in this demand causes the arm to swing'up and down against the pull of the spring. The vertical wire 45- and the eye formed therein constitute an articulated thread guide having rectilinear movement in a path substantially at ,ri'ght angles to the path of the thread in passing to and between the strand feeding cones 22- and 36. Increasing demand of the knitting machine pulls the thread arm 40 downwardly and lowers the thread-guide wire 45 directing the thread more and. more closely to the bases of the strand feeding cones and so increasing the rate of linear feed of the thread. On the other hand, when the thread demand of the knitting machine slackens, the arm l!) is. lifted by the spring 48 and the thread; guide wire 45 rises. directing the thread in a path nearer and nearer to the apex of the: cones 35 and 22, thereby decreasing its rate of feed or even terminating its feeding movement by carrying the thread above or beyond the apices of the cones. In all these positions the thread approaches the line of contact between the cones in a direction at substantially right angles.

Located between the line of contact of the two cones 36 and 22 and the loop or sling 42 is ,a. stationary wire guide T0 which may be secured to the machine at some convenient point such as the horizontal arm 63 (Fig. 2)"- The guidev is formed. with vertically extending loops 12 which are arranged to terminate at a. level slightly above the. point where the. cones physically cease to intersect as may be seen. from an. inspection of 2.. The strand. passes under one of the loops 12 instead. of going directly to the eye. 43 of the thread arm. As a result the strand is held out of. action close to the apices of the cones so that the thread arm will be in approximately .the. same position when the. strand is. entered by means of. guide 46 as. it was when. the thread went out-from betweenthe cones. By means of the. loops 12 therefore itv will. be seen that the strand may be entered. between the. cones with the arm. 40 being. lowered a much shorter distance. that would normally be the case without the. loops Thus any tendency for the guide 42 .t'ov overthrow and. then rebounce is greatly reduced; The wire guide TU. preferably extends across the machine to provide. a second set of loops M, as. shown. at the right hand side of Fig.

'2", which guides strands coming. from the cones 2'3 and" 32.

The, stopping mechanism will now be described. To the top of the upright frame portion II is secured a rectangular upstanding, casing 50., ex.- tending into the space between the bases of the passive-tension. A horizontal stud'il projects from. one side. or the. casing 50. and upon" this is journaled a lever 52. The rear arm. of this lever is bent at right angles and shaped toprovidev bearings for an elongated horizontally disposed roller 53' which normally rests upon the concentric surface of the cam 44' of the thread arm 40 and supports the lever 52. The forward end of the lever 52 extends downwardly and then inwardly in a horizontal extension 54. On the other side of" the casing 50 is provided a similar stud 55 for a similar lever 55' carrying a roller 51 and having an inwardly extending extension 58 at its forward end. These two i'nturned extensions 54 and 58' underlie the forwardly extending operating arm 59 of the micro-switch IE9". When either lever 52 or 5B is rocked upwardly at its forward end by having its rear end ride off the cam 44 of the thread arm, the operating' arm 59' of the switch is lifted and the switch opened or closed as the case maybe to cut of! current to the knitting machine motor and instantly stop the machine or operate a suitable stop motion to stop the machine. The concentric' surface of the cam M- is of sufficient extent to give the thread arm adequate working range; that is to say, the thread arm may move from a lowered position of. maximum strand feed to an elevated position of minimum strand feed without permitting the roller 53 to drop, but if the thread arm is moved for any cause beyond this normal working range, the roller 53 drops off the concentric cam surface. the lever 52 is rocked and the micro-switch fill is tripped. Thus the machine is safeguarded against thread breakage or excessive thread tension, but at the same time yarn changing is permitted because only one thread arm is effective at a time and the thread arm controlling. a strand which is not in use rocks upwardly to an inoperativeposition as shown in Fig. 3 in which its cam portion, 44 clears thev roller 53 and. leaves it under control of the operative thread arm only.

As herein shown, thread is led to the furnish.- ing device from any suitable source of supply, first. through a thread eye 6| carried by the horizontal bar or strip 62 secured by screws to the back. of the. upright portion H of the frame. Thence. it passes through the eye of the vertically moving thread. guide 45 to the line of contact between' the strand feeding cones. From there it passes through the thread eye 43 and then downwardly to the. needles of the knitting machine. through a. thread eye supported in a horizontal arm 63 secured to the base l0. As the thread passes between the two cones it'is positively advanced at arate controlled by the position of the thread arm already explained and the thread arm, in addition to its thread guiding function, constitutes the controllingelement of the stopping mechanism.

The eye GI' preferably is located at the levelof or just a little higher than the point where the cones cease to physically intersect (Fig. 2).

height of the line of contact of the cones. While the dispositionof the eye 6! is not limited to the exact positioning described, I have found. that such. an arrangement does provide for highly satisfactory operation of the furnishing device. In particular; when any undue tension develops Jon. the strand, the eye B l in the position such as noted does not prevent eye 46 from rising and it does tend to assist the strand in coming out from between the cones. Some latitude in the location of the eye 6| either above or below the preferred level referred to may be resorted to within those limits defined by development of undesirable tension effects in either instance.

-A further point to be noted in connection with the location of eye 55 consists in the relative positioning of this element with respect to each of the several other guide members already described. Thus it should be observed that eye 43, eye 46 and eye iii are arranged in alinement with one another along a line which intersects the guide arm 37 and falls at one side of the axis of cone-38, as may be more clearly seen from an inspection of Fig. 1. This results in a strand which is to be engaged between the cones always coming into positive engagement with the guide arm 3'? from which the strand slides downwardly between the cones. Likewise as the strand emerges from the top of the cones it tends to straighten out and to slide upwardly on the guide arm 31. By this arrangement of the several guides one to another, there is provided a space between the disc 22 and the strand when said strand is not in a feeding position.

In Fig. 7 is illustrated a feature of construction which consists in providing one of the strandfeeding cones, for example the cone 32, with notches or slashes 16 extending in divergent relation from the vertex of the cone. Such notches or slashes present definite edges which act positively to engage the yarn and whip it into feeding position when the yarn is to be moved into position between the cones after an interval of interrupted feed. This entering action is best shown in Fig. 8 where the notches 16 are shown as having allowed the strand to freely enter between the cones so that it will he grabbed by them as the full surface of cone 32 comes to the line of contact, thus starting the feeding of the strand smoothly and at once. A contrast to this condition is shown in Fig. 9 where the strand is trying to enter between cones not supplied with the notches. The pressure of the contacting surfaces is usually great andthe thread must catch by pure friction so as to force its way between the cones, which means separating them to the extent of the draw of the thread. Under the conditions as shown in Fig. 9, thread may at times refuse to enter between the cones and under any circumstances its time of entry is uncertain, thus preventing a smooth starting action of the strand from a non-feeding to a feeding i position, such as is essential in yarn changing on a knitting machine and highly desirable when smooth faces. The use of smooth surfaces may however offer a less desirable means of initially engaging the strand between the cones. The

notches 16 are especially effective in overcoming any possible lag in the actual entering of the strand between smooth surfaces as rolls of this character.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A duplex furnishing device comprising separate pairs of strand-feeding cones, an oscillatory thread arm associated with each pair of cones, a rocking lever engaged and held at rest by each thread arm while the arm occupies a normal working position, and a single stop switch arranged to be thrown by the movement of either one of said rocking levers when the said rocking lever is released by movement of the corresponding thread arm beyond its working range.

2. A furnishing device including strand-feeding cones, an oscillatory thread arm associated therewith and having a concentric cam surface of predetermined length, a rocking lever normally locked in stationary position by engagement with said cam surface, and a stop switch arranged to be thrown by said rocking lever when the thread arm is moved sufficiently in either direction to carry its said cam surface to releasing position.

3. A duplex furnishing device comprising a driving shaft, a shaft driven thereby at an intermediate point, wide-angle cones fast to each end of said driven shaft in back-to-back relation, an

angle bracket pivotally mounted adjacent to each of said wide-angle cones, an acute-angle cone carried by each bracket, spring means operating upon the brackets for pressing the lattercones against the wide angle cones, and a movable thread arm associated with each pair of cones.

4. A duplex furnishing device comprising a frame having a vertically disposed driving shaft journaled therein, a horizontal shaft driven thereby at a higher rate of speed, wide angle cones fast to both ends of said driven shaft and rotatable therewith about a common axis in backto-back relation, independently adjustable carrier bars mounted in said frame beneath the driven shaft, an upstanding spindle mounted for pivotal movement on each bar and carrying a freely rotatable acute-angle cone, independent spring means tending at all times to swing the spindles toward the wide angle cones, and strand controlling means associated with both pairs of cones.

5. A duplex furnishing device comprising a pair of wide-angle cones rotatable about a common axis and spaced from each other in back-to-back relation with their bases disposed concentrically, an acute angle cone in rolling contact with each Wide angle cone, a pivotally mounted thread arm associated with each pair of cones, being movable in accordance with thread demand and having a concentric supporting portion, a tripping. lever resting on the supporting portion of each thread arm and arranged to be held at rest thereby throughout the working range of thread demand, a stop switch located between the wide-angle cones, and an operating arm for the switch located in the path of both tripping levers.

6. A furnishing device including thread-feeding cones in rolling contact with each other, stationary thread guides at eitherside of the line of contact of the cones, both positioned at a level above the smaller ends of the cones, an articulated thread guide mounted between one of said stationary thread guides and the entering side of the cones and being movable in a substantially straight line path always at right angles to the line of the thread passing to the cones, a thread arm cooperating with the articulated thread guide and movable itself in accordance with variations in the thread demand, the stationary guides initially supporting the thread above the cones at either side thereof.

7. A furnishing device comprising threadfeeding cones mounted for rotation about converging axes and having their surfaces rolling in contact with one another, guides for directing a strand in a path between the conical sides of said cones, one of said guides being stationary and arranged at a level above the smaller ends of the cones, the other of said guides being movable in a substantially straight line path always at right angles to the path of the thread in passing to said cones and being located between the stationary guide and the entering side of the cones and adapted to assume a position below said stationary guide when a strand is entered, a thread arm operatively connected with the said movable guide, extending above the cones and being responsive to thread demand, and a second stationary guide interposed between the thread arm and the cones and located above the level of the smaller ends of the cones.

8. A furnishing device comprising contiguous strand-feeding cones, a stationary strand-feeding guide eye located at a level above the smaller ends of the cones, a thread arm mounted for oscillation under thread demand, spring means controlling such oscillation, a movable guide eye responsive to oscillations of the thread arm, said mov able guide eye being arranged between the strand-feeding guide eye and the entering side of the cones and being restricted to movement in a substantially straight line path at right angles to the path of the strand in passing to the cones, and a second stationary guide member mounted between the thread arm and the cones, said guide member being arranged at a level above the smaller ends of the cones for the purpose of directing the strand in a path closely adjacent to the cones independently of the thread arm.

9. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a pair of strand-feeding cones disposed concentrically for rotation about a common axis with their smaller ends oppositely directed, a common shaft carrying said cones and positively driving them at equal speed, separate rotary strand-feeding cones respectively pressed yieldingly toward the two driven cones and cooperating therewith to advance different strands at independent rates of linear feed depending on the point of contact therewith of the particular strand.

10. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a pair of similar strand-feeding cones disposed concentrically for rotation about a common axis with their smaller ends outwardly directed, a common shaft carrying said cones and positively driving them at equal speed, a cooperating strand-feeding cone yieldingly pressed toward each of said driven cones and rotated by contact therewith, and strand-guiding means associated with each pair of cones and operating independently to direct strands in different paths between the cones and thus to advance the strands at variable rates of linear feed.

11. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a base, a vertical shaft journaled therein and having a gear at its upper end, a transverse shaft shouldered and reduced throughout a portion of its length, a gear fast on said reduced portion and supported by the shoulder, a wide angle strandfeeding cone fast to each end of the transverse shaft, separate brackets pivotally mounted on the base, a narrow angle strand-feeding cone carried by each bracket, and spring operated means acting on the brackets for pressing the narrow angle cones toward the wide angle cones.

12. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a base having an upright portion forked at its upper end, a transverse shaft shouldered and reduced throughout a portion of its length, a gear keyed to the reduced portion of the shaft and supported by the shoulder therein, the said transverse shaft extending outwardly at both ends beyond the forks of the said upstanding base portion, wide angle cones fast to both ends of the shaft with their smaller ends directed outwardly, and narrow angle cones pivotally mounted in opposite sides of the base and yieldingly urged inwardly into rolling contact with the wide angle cones.

13. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a base carrying a horizontal shaft, a pair of wide angle strand-feeding cones mounted upon opposite ends of the shaft with their bases spaced apart and providing an intermediate open space, a narrow angle cone engaged with the outer face of each wide angle cone, a thread guide movable in response to the passage of a strand between each pair of cones, and an automatic stopping device located in the space between the wide angle cones and having operating connections with both the said thread guides.

14. A duplex furnishing mechanism comprising a pair of strand-feeding cones having truncated smaller ends oppositely directed and disposed concentrically with respect to a common axis, separate rotary strand-feeding truncated cones in yielding contact with the oppositely directed cones and cooperating to advance different strands at independent rates of linear feed, depending on the point of contact therewith of the particular strand, while one cone of each pair is positively driven at the same speed.

ROBERT H. LAWSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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